OFFICIALS of the CNMI government’s various departments, agencies and other instrumentalities gathered at American Memorial Park’s indoor theater on Tuesday to witness Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang sign a proclamation declaring May 4-10, 2025 as Public Service Recognition Week.
Government employees will also be recognized publicly at the Kagman Community Center from May 5 to 9, 2025 “for consistently demonstrating outstanding job performance, displaying great leadership and for investing more than 25 years of their time working for the CNMI government.”
The on-site recognition ceremonies, according to Office of Personnel Management Director Joseph M. Pangelinan, are the next important events to celebrate, as he expressed appreciation to the department heads for allowing their staffers to take part in the recognition week committee, and taking steps to recognize government employees’ “hard work, leadership and service.”
The organizers chose American Memorial Park as the venue for the proclamation signing because Public Service Recognition Week is a nationwide event first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan on May 5, 1988.
During the proclamation signing, CNMI government officials who have recently passed away were also honored: Special Assistant for Administration Oscar M. Babauta, Rota Mayor Efraim M. Atalig, Criminal Justice Planning Agency Director George N. Camacho, Commonwealth Ports Authority Ports Police Captain Calistro T. Reyes Jr., Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Nutrition Assistance Program’s Raymond Anthony Ilo Kapileo, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Power Generation’s Fernandez J. Faustino and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services’ Joaquin T. Camacho.
Public Service Recognition Committee Chair Marie Tenorio Muna read the proclamation, while Civil Service Commission Chair Raymond M. Muna delivered the welcome remarks. The Department of Public Safety posted the colors, and Bishop Romeo D. Convocar led the invocation.
Serving honorably
In his remarks, the governor said he and the lt. governor began their public service by working as specialists before moving on to become program managers and division directors. “We made the best of what was there for us, and we served our community as honorably as we could,” he said.
It was all about managing people, getting along while focusing on the real mission of the agency and showing respect to all the staff, he added. “Many of you in leadership positions today started from the bottom and you persisted, and some of you were young and very [well-educated] individuals,” the governor said.
He also mentioned that he and the lt. governor made a commitment to restore the government employees’ 80-hour work schedule.
“It hasn’t been easy. We have to figure out and shift resources back and forth, at the same time making sure that we pay the Public School System, the retirees, Medicaid, and all these requirements, and then, we have to figure out how to make each and every employee whole,” he said.
Palacios said his administration is “proud of having [done] that, even though we received our share of negative criticism all over the place.”
He vowed not to shy away from finding a way to maintain full work hours for government employees.
Many government employees, he said, have made sacrifices to provide essential services to “the most marginalized and vulnerable members of the community.”
“So today, we proclaim and celebrate Personnel Service Recognition Week and continue to go forward,” Palacios said.
Serve with a smile
In his remarks, the lt. governor urged government employees to serve the people the right way, and with a smile.
“Get your coffee in the morning and keep smiling. Please serve with a smile and be happy when you do it,” he said. That way, he added, when clients leave the government employees’ office, “they will pray for you.”
Apatang said it’s also “good to always have the bishop around — we need all the blessings that we can get.”
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang and Bishop Romeo Convocar join department heads and cabinet members in a group photo after the proclamation signing.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang smile as they start to read the proclamation designating May 4 to 10, 2025 as Public Service Recognition Week at American Memorial Park’s indoor theater on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
